2008 WSOP Championship No Limit Event

I wish I could tell you I was thrilled about the main event this year but honestly I am luke warm about it. I am still not happy about how Harrah’s has handled the WSOP since taking it over a couple of years ago. Yes, they assembled the Players Advisory Committee with several notable players including Doyle Brunson, Dan Negreanu, Howard Lederer and the like but I still somehow don’t buy it.

I know change in all things is inevitable and in most cases is a good thing but moving the championship event out of Binions and all of the additional bracelet events just takes some of the shine off of the product to me. Walking through Binions casino is like walking through a museum. You can still feel the ghosts of Chip Reese, Stu Ungar, and all of the other old school players that brought the game of no limit holdem to the masses.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy the event anymore; on the contrary, I just believe that a little bit of tradition would have gone a long way. In November the final table will be played out with the last nine players to finish going for the coveted championship bracelet. This is a move that will wither prove to be a big winner for the WSOP or it will be a complete whiff and back to the drawing board we go. Some suggest that playing the final table a few months after the tournament will be an excellent way to promote the game and its players. I can’t say that I don’t agree with that thinking in the media driven society we live in. On the other hand some players suggest that collusion could rear its ugly head and leave a black mark on an industry that is already treading water amid cheating scandals.

Either way the WSOP Championship event is going to make a big splash one way or the other. The entire world will be watching. I’m keeping my fingers crossed on this one.